Introduction
Data and Statistics
Selected Databases
Selected Journals
Selected Texts
Pacific Health Organisations and Websites

Introduction

Pacific Health Research Guidelines . Health Research Council of New Zealand (2014)

see also Cochrane Library: Special Collections. Health of indigenous peoples

Co-designing health research in Aotearoa New Zealand (2024)

Co-designing health research in Aotearoa New Zealand describes a Kaupapa Māori evaluation of five Healthier Lives’ projects. The report outlines the elements needed for authentic co-design of health research with Māori and Pacific communities.  The accompanying short guide summarises the lessons learnt from this evaluation and features a conceptual ladder – the Co-design Research Integrity Poutama – which portrays and defines different levels of co-design.

 Data and Statistics

Tupu Ola Moui: Pacific Health Chart Book (2025)
Tupu Ola Moui presents key indicators for Pacific health including socioeconomic determinants, risk and protective factors, health status, the health system and health service utilisation. It identifies areas where Pacific children and adults experience poorer health outcomes but also areas where improvements are being made. 

Statistics New Zealand

Pacific peoples 

Health and Pacific peoples in New Zealand: Pacific progress

Pasifika Futures

Pasifika People in NZ – How We are Doing? (May, 2017)
This report provides a current statistical overview of Pacific peoples in New Zealand. It provides demographic and background data on the current state of Pacific participation in the areas of education, health, employment, income, housing, leadership, culture and community participation.

Wiki New Zealand health data clearinghouse
Wiki New Zealand sources data from other organisations, including corporations, public repositories, government departments and academics.  We import that data into a powerful open source database, we carefully validate it and standardise it. We then make the data available in a series of standardised forms, both human and machine-readable, with rich metadata about the sources, licensing and datatypes.

Health Roundtable
We are a non-profit membership organisation of health services across Australia and New Zealand. We exist to:
Provide opportunities for health executives to learn how to achieve Best Practice in their organisations
Collect, analyse and publish information comparing organisations and identifying ways to improve operational practices
Promote interstate and international collaboration and networking amongst health organisation executives

Members are provided with a wide range of documents and presentations that identify innovations in health care practice, as well as comparative information and meeting notes. Any staff member from a member health service can access these reports by registering for access with their health service email address.

89 health service organisations across Australia and New Zealand are currently members of The Health Roundtable. Many health service members have multiple facilities. A total of 155 facilities currently provide data for comparative analysis.

Te Whatu Ora

Te Mana Ola: The Pacific Health Strategy 

Te Mana Ola is the first-ever Pacific Health Strategy for Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Mana Ola sets the direction and long-term priorities to achieve equity in Pacific health and wellbeing outcomes over the next 10 years.

Selected Databases

Pubmed
The United States National Library of Medicine's premier bibliographic database providing information from Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine, Allied Health and Pre-Clinical Sciences.
Hint: When searchingPubmed for Pacific content.  Search on Pacific as a keyword combined with New Zealand as a MeSH subject heading. You can also use: Samoa; Tonga; Fiji; Polynesian as MeSH subject headings.
Other MeSH subject headings that may be relevant to your search include:
Culture ; Medicine, traditional; Health service, indigenous; Cultural competency; Population groups; Socioeconomic factors

NZResearch
New Zealand’s most comprehensive selection of research papers and related resources. This site include peer-reviewed and other research from universities, polytechnics, and research organisations throughout New Zealand

Publications New Zealand
Publications New Zealand is a record of publications from or about New Zealand, from the earliest days of publishing through to the present

Selected Journals

HRC Pacific News
HRC Pacific News is produced twice a year and includes articles about Pacific health research and describes HRC funded Pacific health research outcomes.  It also includes profiles of Pacific health researchers and teams and provides important information about Pacific health research funding opportunities. 

Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing
The Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing is a peer-reviewed, open-access, scholarly online journal that shares multi-disciplinary indigenous knowledge and research experience amongst indigenous health professionals, leaders, researchers and community members.

Pacific Health Dialog
Pacific Health Dialog - The Journal of Community Health and Clinical Medicine for the Pacific Region is the only Medline listed medical and public health journal published specifically for Pacific island countries. 

Pacific Health Review
Every quarter Pacific Health Review features the latest research in the Pacific Health area.

Selected Texts

Ministry of Health

Ola Manuia: Pacific Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2020–2025

Primary care for Pacific people: A Pacific and health systems approach  (2012)

Ala mo'ui : pathways to Pacific health and wellbeing : 2010-2014 

Faiva Ora National Pasifika Disability Plan 2016-2021 (2017)

Pacific  cultural competencies:  literature review (2008)

Improving quality of care for Pacific peoples  (2008) 

Pacific peoples and mental health (2008)

Pacific youth health (2008)

Pacific peoples’ experience of disability : a paper for the Pacific Health and Disability Action Plan review.  (2008)

Pacific patterns in primary health care: A comparison of Pacific and all patient visits to doctors (2005)

Improving access to primary care for Māori, and Pacific peoples : A literature review commissioned by the Health Funding Authority (2000)

Other texts

Tofa Saili: A review of evidence about health equity for Pacific Peoples in New Zealand'
Pacific Perspectives (2019)
This report describes the health equity issues faced by Pacific families and communities. The report highlights approaches based on Pacific values and the strengths of Pacific communities. It is informed by the Pacific Aotearoa vision (Ministry of Pacific Peoples, 2019).

Annotated Pacific knowledge bibliography (SuperU, 2018)

The Determinants of Health for Pacific Children and Young People in New Zealand (2014) (Determinants of Health for Children and Young People). New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (2016)

Evaluation of the implementation and immediate outcomes of the Primary Health Care Strategy: the experiences of Pacific PHOs and Pacific populations (2013)

More than Churches, Rugby & Festivals: A Report on the State of Pasifika People in New Zealand. Salvation Army (2013)

Pacific identities and well-being: cross-cultural perspectives by Margaret Nelson Agee ... [et al.] (editors).  Otago University Press, 2013.  Available from Counties Manukau Health Library: WA305 A265 2013 

Tuatua Tika: straight talk about Pacific peoples and smoking. Tala Pasifika (2010)

Sport and recreation in New Zealand Pasifika communities. Victoria University of Wellington (2010)

Pearls unlimited: Pacific peoples and alcohol. ALAC (2009)

The health of Pacific children and young people in New Zealand. NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service (2008) 

Pacific models of mental health service delivery in New Zealand. Health Research Council (2004)

Selected Print texts available from Counties Manukau Health Library

  Pacific identities and well-being: cross-cultural perspectives (2013) - Location: WA305 A265 2013

  Tangata o le Moana: New Zealand and the People of the Pacific (2012) -  Location DU424.5  T34 2012

 .. more texts from the University of Auckland library:  Search terms: Pacific Islanders - Medical Care - New Zealand
 

Pacific health Organisations and Websites

Pacific Perspectives
Pacific Perspectives is a consultancy focused on the New Zealand health and education sectors.
      see Publications and Research Papers

Le Va
New Zealand’s national coordination service and workforce development programme for Pacific mental health, addictions, disabilities and general health

Ara Taiohi: Pacific resources
Ara Taiohi is the peak body for the youth sector, created by New Zealand Aotearoa Adolescent Health and Development (NZAAHD) and the National Youth Workers Network Aotearoa (NYWNA).

Auckland University: Pasifika health: research, information and resources (directory) 

University of Otago.  Pacific Islands research and student support unit
     

Auckland University of Technology. Centre for Pacific health and development research
        see Publications and Resources from the Pacific Islands Families Study

Secretariat of the Pacific Community.  Public health division. 
      

last updated 122 October 2025